Five Times Pepper Walked in on Bruce and Tony
by Initial A
Summary: ...and the one time she didn't. They lock themselves in the lab all day, and no one even questions the explosions these days. Tony/Pepper, but lots of lab-bros-Tony/Bruce
1. The First Time

**Five Times Pepper Walked in on Bruce and Tony (and One Time She Didn't)**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Marvel 'verse.**

* * *

After so many years of working for Tony, she should be immune to headaches. But apparently, it took ten years to build up immunity to only Tony—not the superhero team she suddenly found herself stepping around constantly.

Not that it was all a bad thing. Steve was polite and did all the gentlemanly things she thought were gone in this day and age—helping her carry extra work when she had a meeting with the board, holding the door for her, refraining from cursing around her, things like that. Clint was a sharp-shooter of all trades, including language, and he often had them all in tears from his running commentary about the various SHIELD agents running in and out of the mansion. Natasha was becoming a friend, and it was nice to have another woman around when the boys got their egos running.

Bruce though… Bruce was the mystery. He spent most of his time out of the way. He reminded Pepper of a mouse, scurrying around and trying to live but not be seen. He smiled at her when he did see her, but it was a shy, please-don't-react kind of smile. She never knew where he went when he was hiding, and didn't ask; if she wasn't being told, she didn't need to know. She liked that rule when it came to the Avengers. It cut down on how many aspirins she needed to take daily.

So she really wasn't prepared for what she walked into that day in Tony's workshop.

Everyone had been hearing explosions coming from the workshop for ages, but seeing as how JARVIS wasn't requesting everyone evacuate the building, and Pepper reacting with a sigh and a slight roll of the eyes, no one paid much attention to it anymore. No one asked questions. (Steve did smother a few laughs when Tony would inevitably come upstairs with another ruined shirt, or singed hair)

Everything was on a need-to-know basis.

Pepper wasn't prepared to see Bruce fruitlessly tugging on Tony's legs, the rest of her boyfriend's body stuck upside-down inside a metal container. Tony's yelled instructions were muffled from being stuck, but they reverberated loudly. "No, no, stop, that's not helping—Get Dummy, or Butterfingers!"

Pepper covered her mouth with one hand and resisted the urge to laugh. A few squeaks came out anyway.

Bruce let go of Tony immediately upon realizing she was there. "Oh, er… Hi. Um, Pepper. Hi. This isn't… It's a bit, er… complicated? Tony's, uh, Tony's fine. Just a bit… stuck."

Pepper nodded, regaining most of her composure—her lips twitched as she fought the urge to smile. "I see that."

"Pepper? Pepper! Tell Bruce how to get the robots to listen to him, they can get me out!" Tony called.

She covered her face with the papers she'd come in with (Tony's signature was still needed on a lot of the company documents) and tried to keep a straight face. She beckoned to Bruce. "It's really simple, just talk to them. He should have upgraded their recognition for your voice, if you're down here often," she said softly.

"Yeah, we… it helps, to have somewhere like this. Keeps my mind busy, focused," Bruce replied, his voice softer than normal.

Pepper glanced over her shoulder at Tony's legs, still flailing. "I take it this isn't something that happens often?"

The demure man grinned briefly. "No, no… maybe once a week. The rest of the time, it's more the…"

"Explosions," she said with him, nodding. "Well, it's just a good thing we already have all the insurance, if you two are down here playing lab partners all day."

Their eyes met for a moment, and he looked down again. "He's really, ah… ambitious. I don't… I don't know how you managed to control him before."

Pepper hesitated. Everything was on a need-to-know basis around here. Maybe there were a few things Bruce still needed to know. She touched his arm lightly. He flinched, but didn't pull away. "I didn't," she said simply. "He's more ambitious because you're here to bounce ideas off of. I was mostly regulated to making sure he ate and slept, and didn't smash anything else valuable with his tests. You're a doctor, and a top-notch scientist; he's a scientist and an engineer, and about half a dozen other things. To him, the possibilities between you are endless."

Bruce didn't say anything. Pepper patted Dummy's arm. "Like I said, they'll listen to you. Give them clear instructions. Dummy might take a bit to really get it. Butterfingers might drop Tony on his head."

She started to walk away. Bruce's quiet, "Thanks," stopped her. She looked back. "Don't thank me quite yet. You've just been promoted to Tony Stark's Official Babysitter."

That was the first time she heard Bruce Banner laugh.


	2. The Second Time

**Five Times…**

**The Second Time**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Absolutely nothing! *hides under a rock in the woods***

* * *

Was she imagining things, or was that Neil Diamond?

Pepper wasn't entirely sure that Tony wouldn't just slide a few stacks of Benjamins in Mr. Diamond's direction, and then fly him to the New York mansion for a private concert. You know, for kicks. But as she got closer to the kitchen, she realized that not only was it just the speakers cranked up, but also that _Tony and Bruce_ were singing over the lyrics.

She rounded the corner just as they hit, "_SWEEEEEEEEEEEET CAROLIIIIINE! BAH BAH BAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_"

Her eyebrows shot up, and her hand flew over her mouth to stop the fit of giggles. Tony, _her Tony_, was wearing an _apron_ of all things, and Bruce was dancing with a spatula. The unmistakable aroma of pancakes filled the kitchen. Tony noticed her and—there was no other way to describe it—_sashayed_ over to her, took the hand over her mouth and the free hand, and started dancing with her. "Ms. Potts."

"Mr. Stark."

"Now, this really isn't the worst thing you've—_SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!_—walked in on me doing, is it?" He asked.

She gave him her patented half-exasperated, half-entertained look. "No, but it might make the top ten for ridiculousness."

"Tony… he doesn't know how to make pancakes, did you know that?" Bruce asked, flipping one on the skillet. "He can make ah, a high-powered particle accelerator in his basement, but he can't make pancakes!"

Bruce had lost some of his shyness around her since that day in the lab. It was nice to hear him talk without so much stammering and cautiously picking his way around words. Tony twirled her. "Why know how to make pancakes, when you can order pizza?"

"You can make me an omelet in an airplane galley, but you can't make pancakes?" Pepper asked, tilting her head slightly.

"In my defense, it did take three hours."

"I'm trying to teach him, but then he started playing music, and then…" Bruce shrugged.

Pepper laughed as Tony twirled her again. "I work better with music!" He said.

Neil Diamond faded out, only to be replaced by a very familiar six-note guitar riff. After a bit more dancing and serenading Pepper to "My Girl", Bruce managed to tear Tony away to perfect the art of the Perfect Pancake Flip. She took a seat on a bar stool and watched as they bickered over just how many bubbles there should be in the batter before the pancake was that perfect shade of golden-brown. Tony interrupted his own long-winded stream of schematics to build a robot to make pancakes for him—Pepper guessed that he would continue with his run of highly imaginative names and call it Batter or Flip—to use the spatula as a microphone, "_IIIIIIII GUESS YOU'D SAY, WHAT COULD MAKE ME FEEL THIS WAY? MY GIIIIIIIIIRL!_"

Pepper covered her face with her hands, trying not to laugh.

However, that ended when the next song started, and Steve walked in. Tony's eyes took on a manic glint, and Pepper couldn't even warn Steve before, "_WHY DO YOU BUILD ME UP? BUTTERCUP BABY, JUST TO LET ME DOWN?_"

The look of confusion on Steve's face was priceless, even at the cost of one slowly burning pancake on the stove.

* * *

((I firmly believe that it is entirely un-American not to sing along to any of those three songs. (non-Americans, you're in the clear, but be aware that you're missing out on an excellent sing-along opportunity. Tony would back me up on this) Also, Tony IS rather unimaginative at naming his robots—Dummy is a little slow on the pick-up, Butterfingers is clumsy (though why he had it holding the camera…), and Iron Man is quite obvious))


	3. THe Third Time

**Five Times…**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Marvel universe.**

* * *

"It's a very generous offer. I'm just not sure what use I could be to Mr. Stark, or the company," Jane Foster demurred, a bit out of breath. She was jogging slightly to keep up with Pepper.

"Mr. Stark has a few ideas that he feels would appeal to your particular work and current study. I understand you're working on the theory that wormholes are actually bridges through different worlds?" Pepper asked.

Jane pushed a strand of hair behind her ear agitatedly. "Well, yes, but how did you—"

Pepper smiled. "You aren't the only one S.H.I.E.L.D. has kept tabs on."

"OHMYGOSH, HOW DID YOU GET THAT?" Darcy Lewis yelled, several yards behind them and staring into one of the lab windows.

"Darcy!"

Jane's look of exasperation was one Pepper recognized: it was similar to the one she wore around Tony. Pepper made a mental note that Darcy would need to be kept under supervision, much like Steve and Thor (when he was on-planet, anyway), else she wind up somewhere she shouldn't. "Most of these experiments are classified, Ms. Lewis, under strict S.H.I.E.L.D. orders and supervision. If Ms. Foster accepts employment here, with you as her assistant, then you might be granted privilege of access."

"Dude_, accept it_. There are _secrets_ here. It's like that secret government warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones! We could find the _Ark of the Covenant_! What do we have going for us in New Mexico anyway?" Darcy told Jane, jogging to catch up to them.

"But, my equipment…"

"Can be relocated with no difficulty. I believe Mr. Stark was interested in how you designed all your own equipment. He'll have questions," Pepper said, leading them to Tony's lab.

The lab was empty. This was unusual. Pepper reached for her earpiece to call Tony to find out where he was—she had told him she was bringing Jane and Darcy to the facility at three o'clock. A dull "thud" from across the room made her pause. Jane looked nervous. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure…"

There was a door that she was absolutely positive hadn't been there two days ago. In fact, she knew it hadn't been there, because she had had to walk next to that wall to get around the puddle of chemicals Tony had knocked over while Bruce had been experimenting. They went to it, cautiously, as another "thud" sounded—this one sounding more metallic. Pepper looked to her left, and noticed one of the Iron Man suits was missing. She fought the urge to roll her eyes or sigh. Of course. Another new testing facility; because it wasn't enough that they had six of them installed on the R&D floors, let alone the three in each of Tony's homes. She looked back apologetically at Jane and Darcy, and opened the door; she was expecting to see Tony testing some new flight stabilizers and crashing around, but instead… "Oh my GOD!"

Jane screamed. Darcy, on the other hand, was taking out her cell phone. "AWESOME."

Bruce had gone Hulk. Pepper had opened the door just as the Hulk had smashed Iron Man into the wall nearest them. "No, put that—stop taking pictures—" Pepper tried to push Darcy's phone back into her bag, but the smaller girl fought back. "No—dude—this is freaking sweet—just let me—I won't YouTube it!"

The Hulk crashed across the room. Iron Man was on his feet almost instantly. They grappled; Iron Man's flight boosters kicked into high gear, trying to give him an edge on the obviously advantaged Hulk. The Hulk seemed to have more awareness, proving so by letting Iron Man go; he sped across the room and crashed into the wall. Pepper closed the door fast, before the Hulk noticed them and things went south. She pressed the button on her earpiece that connected her directly to Tony. "What is going on?"

—_Hi, dear, lovely to hear from you too. I'm a bit busy at the moment._—

"I noticed!"

—_I'll explain everything later, it's all under contr_—

The call cut out abruptly, as they heard another metallic "thud" in the room behind them. Pepper rubbed her forehead. "Were we supposed to see that?" Darcy asked, checking her phone.

"Not exactly."

"You want me to work for Iron Man?" Jane exclaimed.

Pepper was taken aback. "You didn't know he was Iron Man?"

Darcy looked up from scrolling through the pictures she had managed to take. "Are you serious? Even _I_ knew that!"

Jane was shaking slightly. She pointed at the door. "And that was… that was that… giant green creature. That accident that Dr. Banner was involved in, that's him, right?"

Pepper looked through the files she carried. She scanned the pages briefly until she saw that Jane had been studying in the physics department at Culver University when Bruce had been experimenting with the serum used on Steve during the war, and then exposed himself to the gamma radiation. Of course she would remember that incident. She tuned back in to the outside world; Darcy and Jane were arguing about Jane's lack of current events knowledge. "Yeah, but this was the guy who stopped all those Transformers from exploding more stuff at the Stark Expo! And then helped destroy half of Midtown! Or at least Park Avenue."

"Did anyone _tell_ me these things?" Jane asked.

"You were kidnapped by the men in black, I thought you'd figure it out that it had to do with your boyfriend!"

Jane froze. Pepper was amazed that this woman, who had made some rather impressive breakthroughs in a field riddled with geniuses, could be focused enough on one thing at a time to not even realize the implications of her sudden relocation several months ago. Even Tony wasn't that single-minded. "Thor? He was back?"

"No one briefed you?" Pepper asked.

Jane shook her head. Pepper's heart went out to her. "Thor's brother, Loki, he was causing some… problems, a few months ago. S.H.I.E.L.D. moved you to a facility that was in their jurisdiction, in case Loki decided you would be good bait for his brother."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "They probably knew better than to tell her, or else she'd try to run off into the sunset with him. Do you know how much research she's made me do about the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory? Like, so much research. Like, I can vomit information about the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory. On command."

The door opened. Iron Man slipped out, closing the door behind him. His helmet retracted. "Ms. Potts."

"Mr. Stark," Pepper raised an eyebrow at him.

Tony looked to the two young women. "And you're Jane Foster. I'm impressed with what I've seen of your work, really interesting mechanics you're using there."

"Where is Thor?" Jane asked.

Tony's eyebrows went up. "Gets right to the point, doesn't she?"

"She's zeroed in like that. I'm Darcy, by the way, since you didn't ask. Helper gnome extraordinaire."

Pepper hid a smile. The girl was flighty, but she was sharp. She'd like to see Darcy go toe-to-toe with Tony on a good day. Tony barely acknowledged her. "Hammerpants is currently off-planet. But, since he seemed so pained at not being able to see you last time he bolted in, I thought I'd be nice and bring you around for the next time. Besides, you've got a good eye for engineering, and I think I can help you with some of your research. Funding-wise, anyway."

The door opened again, and Bruce emerged, looking worn. He seemed surprised that there were so many people there. "Oh, uh… hi. Everyone."

Pepper maneuvered Bruce away from the others while Tony talked business. "What was all that about?" She asked him, keeping her voice low.

"That was… A lot of things. I was… er, Tony was hoping you wouldn't find out about that," Bruce said; he didn't meet her eyes. "He ah, he made some modifications to the durability of the Iron Man suit. He wanted a proper test of it, and ah… he uh, he thought it would be good to work on my control of the other guy. If I could have any."

"I see."

Bruce glanced at her briefly. "He… he also thinks that if I let the other guy out more, I'll have less stress and anxiety and anger when I'm… y'know… regular me."

"Is it working?"

A smile twitched on his lips. "Well, this was just the first run, so I can't compare…"

She felt the beginnings of a headache, knowing that Tony and Bruce were going to regularly be trying to beat the living hell out of each other. "Compared to before you went in, then."

"Better, at least knowing I didn't rip his arms off."

Pepper smiled. "I appreciate that, by the way."

He chuckled. "I'll do my best."

Darcy let out a whoop across the room. They turned, and saw Tony shaking Jane's hand, while Darcy did some kind of celebratory dance. Pepper clapped Bruce's shoulder lightly. "Let's introduce you to your new co-workers."

* * *

((The impression I got of Jane was that she was brilliant, but innocent, and extremely focused. It wouldn't surprise me, in my understanding of her, if she ignored anything that didn't have to do with her research or her goals. If S.H.I.E.L.D. moved her as discreetly as I hope they did, it wouldn't be hard to move her without alerting her that something odd was going on. Then again, I've only seen _Thor _once, so I can't say I've done as extensive a character study on her as I have most of the other characters; fandom hasn't been kind to Jane, so there aren't as many personality analytics of her as other characters. (Also, if Whitney Cummings needs a new writer on _2 Broke Girls_, I volunteer. Kat Dennings/Darcy/Max is fantastic to write for)))


	4. The Fourth Time

**Five Times…**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Marvel universe.**

**Author's Note: Thank you so much everyone, for your kind reviews and all the favorites and kudos and other wonderful notifications making my inbox explode!**

* * *

She stopped just outside the lab door, hearing Tony yelp in pain. She glanced inside and saw Bruce saran-wrapping an ice pack to Tony's shoulder; a brace with a smaller pack covered his wrist on the same arm. Their backs were to her. "Sorry about that…" She heard Bruce say.

"Why? I told you to go for it. I'd do the same, if I could ever get a grip on you."

Bruce shook his head, and took a seat, writing something in a notebook. Tony got up, tossing an apple with his good hand. Pepper ducked back, listening to them talk. "It's totally fine to go completely nuts on me. We've done enough upgrades on the armor and the safety backups in the room that I'll be fine."

"Except…" Bruce drifted off; Pepper guessed he was gesturing to the injuries.

"Happens all the time, even when I'm not dealing with the Jolly Green Giant. Downside of being human, you get hurt. Whatever."

"You're the second person ever to not be afraid of me. You know that's weird for me, right?"

There was the crunch of the apple being eaten. "See, you shouldn't have told me that. I'm competitive. I don't like second place."

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah well… I haven't talked to her in months, you can have honorary first place."

"Her?"

Pepper peeked around the corner. Tony was looking pointedly at Bruce; Bruce, in turn, was pointedly not looking at him, and writing in the notebook. A full five minutes passed before Tony lost interest and wandered over to tinker with the schematics of his suit. She was contemplating going in and trying to break the awkward silence—without letting on that she knew about it—when Bruce spoke up, very quietly. "Her name's Betty."

Tony paused with the hologram briefly, and then continued modifying it. Bruce set down his pencil. "Betty Ross. She was my colleague, and… we had a thing together. I… hurt her, after the accident. She was there. She didn't hold it against me, for some reason. Even when I came back, she was the only one who wasn't afraid of… the other guy. She could get him to calm down, and I could be me again."

There was a pause. "Anyway, her father is a general. One of the guys after me. He's the biggest reason we haven't talked to each other in so long."

"General Ross?" Tony asked. "I met him. Long time ago, when S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted you to come out of hiding, they sent me. Fury thought I was the negotiating type, for some reason. He's a grade-A douchebag, which is something coming from me."

She heard Bruce laugh, in a hollow, self-deprecating sort of way. "Well, when it comes to me… he's not my biggest fan."

They were quiet for a while, until Tony spoke up again. "You haven't thought to contact her now? You're in a safe location, S.H.I.E.L.D. overrides the Army, and you live in a privately owned building. He can't stop her."

"He'd do something. I don't… I don't know what. I don't even want to know what he'd try to do… But it's… It's easier… easier to let her move on."

Pepper felt sorry for him. Bruce was so like Tony, but without the bravado and charisma and devil-may-care attitude about strangers wanting to control him. Where Tony would challenge them to try until they backed down, Bruce hid and hoped they would lose interest. He secluded himself from everyone, even the woman he—as she suspected he did—loved, just so he could be left in peace to deal with his terrible privilege. He probably thought he was protecting her. Pepper knew how she would feel if Tony ever decided to hop on that train of thought; she wondered if this Betty felt the same.

Another few minutes passed before she heard Bruce say lightly, "Anyway, I've got you now. Your methods are a bit unorthodox, but it seems to be working."

Pepper raised an eyebrow at the opposing wall as Tony said, "Gosh, big guy, I'm flattered… but you know I quit that whole dating around scene. I wish you'd've said something sooner."

They both chuckled. Pepper rolled her eyes, smiling. Her cell phone vibrated, annoyingly loud even in silent mode. She looked at the text: _You can come in now. –T_

She paused for only a moment to wonder how long he'd known she was out there before her phone buzzed again. _And start locating Betty Ross. Please. Discreetly. Also please. And thank you. And other manners. –T_

She sent back one message before walking into the lab. _I'll remind u of this, next time u doubt u have a heart._


	5. The Fifth Time

**Five Times…**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own ZILCH in the Marvel universe. Not even a hairpin.**

* * *

"_Son of a cock-loving whore!_"

Pepper paused. She glanced at Jane, whose work was spread over three tables and quite a bit of the floor. Jane merely shook her head, rolling her eyes, and pointed towards the den. Resigned to whatever she was going to find, Pepper walked to the door and looked in.

Tony and Bruce were playing a video game; specifically, the newly-licensed Avengers video game.

While Tony had generously offered everyone living space, he hadn't offered his money. However, no one could really work for anyone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., or Stark Industries. Steve received a small Army pension, but it wasn't much. Only Clint and Natasha could hire themselves out inconspicuously as bodyguards or muscle, so Tony had been stuck footing the bill for just about everything. Eventually, Darcy had suggested he put a copyright on everyone's images and sell official merchandise. As she had said, "People freakin' love you guys. You saw all the homemade stuff on the news. It'll sell like crazy!"

She was right.

Now, a video game was being finalized. Pepper suspected this was a copy of the last test run before it went into mass production. It was a standard one-on-one fighting game, with each of them being a playable character. Currently, Iron Man was having the armor beaten off of him by Hulk. Tony continued to swear, mashing buttons, trying to figure out the right combination to give him the advantage. Bruce was quiet, as usual, but a determined sort of quiet, pressing buttons on the controller methodically. A shadow of a smirk would cross his face as his character pulled off a particularly difficult combo.

Steve was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching them play with his brow furrowed. "I still don't get the point," he said after a while.

"There isn't one," Natasha and Clint chorused. Natasha was sitting cross-legged on a chair, while Clint lounged on the other side of Tony.

Tony threw his controller on the ground and swore violently when the Hulk threw Iron Man out of the boundaries and won. "Cheating! That is completely cheating, Banner!"

"If it's cheating, you should have the ring-out ability removed," Bruce replied calmly.

"It's understood! Honor before all in battle, or something like that!"

"Even so, by game standards it's a legal move."

"This guy!" Tony yells to no one in particular, pointing at him.

"If you spent more time focusing on what you were doing, rather than trash talking the whole time, you'd do better," he said, flashing a grin. "_I'm_ not the one who has to learn control around here."

"Tony's never been great at accepting a loss graciously," Pepper said, trying not to smile. Steve chuckled.

"Don't tell them that! Don't listen to her. I don't lose!"

Everyone ignored him. Bruce fiddled with his controller. "So, ah… Anyone else want to give it a go?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. She stretched briefly, and stood up. "I'm out. If anyone needs me, I'll be doing some _real_ fighting…"

"C'mon, Tasha, just a bit? It's fun," Clint said.

"Stark didn't listen to me when I told him to make my character less… video-game-girl. So, no. I'll be in the gym," she called over her shoulder as she left.

"I think I'll go with you," Steve said, following.

Pepper noticed a faint blush on Steve's cheeks, and raised an eyebrow. Well, well. Cap had a thing for the spider. _That_ was unexpected. She looked back at the others, and saw Clint looking sour. Tony and Bruce hadn't noticed anything. "I'll take you on," Clint said to Bruce grumpily, picking up the controller off of the floor.

He took Tony's vacated spot, and Bruce went back to the menu screen. Tony wore an unmistakable pout as he went to Pepper for sympathy. "They're mean," he said.

"You can be pretty mean yourself," she told him; she rubbed his arm soothingly anyway.

"You're supposed to be on _my_ side."

Pepper grinned, shaking her head. "I'm not supposed to be on anyone's side. Anyway, I came in to give you this."

She handed him a slip of paper. He looked at it; written in her small, precise handwriting were the words _Betty Ross, 835 Washington Blvd, Apt #16A, Alexandria VA._ He folded it in half and stuck it in his pocket. "I don't want to now," Tony grumbled under his breath.

"You're being petty," Pepper cautioned him.

Tony made a face, and they watched Clint lose spectacularly to Bruce three times. "No delayed-ignition explosives… Told you to program in all my arrowheads," Clint said, clapping Tony on the shoulder as he left. "I almost had him."

Bruce stretched. "Well, now that I'm the reigning games champion… What's Tony being petty about now?"

Pepper kept a straight face. "The usual. Sore loser, smarting ego. Let him be smarter than you for a week, and he'll get better. Well, more tolerable."

"Hey!"

"You're handsome, and wonderful, and the smartest person on the planet," Pepper told him cheekily, giving him a quick kiss before she went back to work.

"Damn straight I am," he called after her.

"I'd echo her sentiments, but I know better," she heard Bruce quip, and Tony's indignant splutter made her laugh.

* * *

He came to bed late that night, smelling slightly of acids and metals. She knew better than to ask at this point, and his hair was still wet, so he'd probably washed the worst of it off. "Make sure my schedule's clear next week," he said as he settled in, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. "Please."

"And what should I tell Fury, should he call?"

"I'm making an investment."


	6. And the one time she didn't

**Five Times…**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the things in Marvel's universe. None of them. Not even Loki's silly hat.**

* * *

Rain came down in torrents on the curtain walls; the thunderstorm that had brought Thor to New York had decided to stay. Pepper was curled on the couch in her pajamas and a sheer green kimono, a glass of wine in one hand, watching the lightning dance across the sky.

It was quiet in the tower, for once. Tony was gone, so there was a lack of the usual background noise of explosions and panicked yelling coming from the lab. Clint and Natasha were doing work for S.H.I.E.L.D. in Istanbul—not that she knew anything about that, no sir. Jane and Thor had vanished, predictably enough. She wasn't sure where Steve had disappeared to, but earlier Darcy had been eyeing him with a predator's stare and a stack of her favorite DVDs in hand. Doubtless there was some sort of cultural initiation going on.

She glanced at the clock, wondering if the storm would delay Tony getting home, just as Bruce walked through the living area. He was wiping his hands on a dirty cloth, muttering something to himself. "Hello, Bruce," Pepper said, taking a sip of wine.

He started. He took a moment to breathe—settling his nerves, she thought—before saying,, "Oh, Pepper. I thought… I thought you'd be with Tony. He said… He said he was going down to the DC site, I thought you'd, ah, you'd want to be there."

"Nope. Contrary to popular belief, sometimes I can let Tony run around off-leash. He doesn't even pee on the neighbor's bushes," she said, smiling.

Bruce chuckled. "Do you want to join me?" Pepper asked, patting the empty section of the couch.

"I was going to… well, I mean, I wanted to grab something…"

"By all means. I'm not going anywhere."

He disappeared into the kitchen and reemerged a few minutes later with a mug of tea and a sandwich. "I'd join you," he gestured to the bottle of wine with the sandwich plate, "but I find that alcohol… we don't mix well anymore. Things tend to happen."

Pepper arched an eyebrow at him over her glass as she took another sip. He sat down. "I'm pretty good at handling… things that don't mix well with alcohol," she said.

There was his signature flash of a smirk. "Yeah, well… this might be a bit more than you're used to."

They chatted for a bit while he ate, talking about his research and what plans Tony had to incorporate it into technology for mass consumption. Pepper was amused to see Bruce taken aback when she asked specific questions. Astute financial executive of Stark Industries—and part-time superhero-wrangler—she might be, but she'd spent almost a decade before cleaning up Tony's schematics and finding this book or that on engineering and chemistry for him. She'd picked up a thing or two over the years.

The lights flickered after a particularly bright lightning streak. "I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means…" Bruce muttered.

"What?"

"Well, y'know, the god of thunder is in residence… with his lover…"

Pepper almost spat out her wine. Bruce was smiling. "Point Break's pretty easy-going, but I think even he would get a bit upset about that," Tony's voice rang out clearly.

She smiled, and Bruce turned as Tony strode through the door. His hands were in his pockets, and he wore a look that would make the smuggest of all cats jealous. "Very chivalrous, these Asgardians, we should strive to be more like them," Tony said.

"And don't you look like the cat that got the canary," Pepper said, going to give him a kiss.

"I never liked Tweety Bird," he replied.

"Reminds you too much of yourself?" Bruce asked.

"I preferred the coyote, real smart guy."

"How was D.C.?" Pepper asked, gently steering the conversation to a more productive route. "I thought the storm might delay you."

"Me? Nah. D.C. was great. Really great, actually, it's a much better town when I'm not fighting with the DOD about whether or not they own my ass or if I own my ass."

Bruce stirred his tea. "I know that fight…"

Tony snapped his fingers. "Oh, gosh, I almost forgot. Picked you up a little souvenir while I was down there, big guy. Hang on."

He left momentarily, talking the whole time. "Now, I don't know if it'll fit you, but I saw this little number in a shop in Alexandria, and I thought 'Wow, Bruce would really love this.' If you don't like it, I'm sure they'll let us exchange it, no problem…"

He came back in, leading a tall brunette. "Oh, be quiet, Mr. Stark," she said. She looked hesitant, hopeful. "Hi, Bruce."

He didn't say anything, he only stared in disbelief. He was frozen in place, mouth hanging open slightly. Pepper was almost certain he was about to spill his tea all over the (extremely white and clean) carpet, when he set it on the table. "Betty…"

They rushed to one another, and held each other tightly, as if they were afraid the other would vanish if they dared to let go. Tony put his arm around Pepper. She leaned into him. "I don't understand… just… how? And your father…" Bruce was saying softly.

"Mr. Stark just dropped in on me the other day. Almost literally," she told him, just as quietly. "He made me an offer… and I couldn't refuse it. And my father be damned, I'm not a teenager anymore. He can't sit around on the front porch, guarding me, scaring people off with his four stars just because he doesn't like them. We'll make it work, Bruce."

He hugged her tighter. Over her shoulder, he looked at Tony and mouthed "Thank you". Tony nodded slightly, smiling briefly. Pepper led him out of the room, leaving Bruce and Betty alone. "You incorrigible old romantic," she teased.

"Hey, watch it there. I have a reputation to protect."

Pepper rolled her eyes as the arm around her pulled her in closer. On their way to their room, they passed the den, where Darcy was throwing popcorn at _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ and talking back at it gleefully. Steve sounded frustrated and confused, and kept trying to ask questions. "No, no, no, you're supposed to throw _toast_ here, but popcorn's easier to clean up—" They heard her say before rounding the corner and out of earshot. Pepper snorted, trying not to laugh too loudly. Tony was grinning.

As they got ready for bed, Tony filled the silence with chatter about whatever came to mind. Pepper half-listened, used to filtering him for the important bits she needed to remember; he needed to talk, to get things out of his mind so he could sleep. Some people had a daily journal, Tony Stark talked until his teeth fell out. She was very used to it by now. She'd throw in an "mm-hmm" occasionally to let him know she was still paying attention—kind of—when he asked a question that didn't filter through. "What was that?"

"Italy. Tomorrow. You and me, no ragtag superhero team to babysit, nothing pressing going on in the company. Let's just go. I want some authentic Italian."

Pepper mentally listed out the things she knew Tony had been working on. "I thought you and Bruce were working on the stabilizers for the hydro-powered—"

"He'll be fine. Jane knows what we're working on," he said, hopping into bed with her.

"You never let other people work on your projects," Pepper said, slightly astonished.

"And Betty mentioned on the trip that she wanted to see how well he's been holding up, and if there's been any changes with the other guy."

"Oh, you _are_ an incorrigible old romantic."

"It's for science! And Bruce's health!"

"You wanted to bring her here so you'd feel less guilty about spending time with me."

"Yeah, well, maybe a bit of that too."

He ordered JARVIS to dim the lights as she tucked herself in against him. "So, Italy?" Tony asked.

"Maybe. Let me look at the office first," she said.

"I might be able to work something out. I'm pretty familiar with your boss."

She chuckled. "Funny, I'm pretty familiar with him too," she said, and went in for the kiss.

* * *

((The end. Thanks everyone for all your lovely reviews and favorites and kudos and alerts and everything else, you made this more fun! (it was pretty fun either way, I made myself laugh a few times)))


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